Henriette Juliane Caroline von Rüling,
the wife of the Hanoverian state secretary Georg
Ernst von Rüling and daughter of Georg Wilhelm von Willich, Vice
President of the Higher Appeals Court, died in 1782 at the age of 26.
Her family had a tomb constructed in the Garden Cemetery in Hanover,
Germany. It was built in the form of steps with massive stones. In
addition to the inscriptions about the deceased, these words were
engraved in the lower slab of the tomb: “"This tomb bought for eternity
may never be opened."
At some time after the tomb was completed, a birch seed
fell into a crevice and sprouted. The seedling kept growing until it
became a tree. The tree caused the massive stones of the tomb to be
raised and split open. Despite the claim of the engraved inscription
was never to be opened, due to the damage of the growing birch tree, the
grave became known as “the Open Grave” or “Burst Grave.” *
This
phenomenon illustrates what will happen when Jesus returns to this
earth. Jesus foretold what would happen to graves when He returns: “Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the
graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to
the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29). Graves – even the massive
tombs of stone and steel – will be opened and the dead shall be raised
to meet the Lord in judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
The guarantee
of the general resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Because the stone was rolled away and Jesus’ tomb was found empty, all
graves will be opened when Jesus returns from heaven to judge the
world. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the
firstfruits [the first of more to come] of those who have fallen asleep
[i.e. died]” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Skeptics and
unbelievers have sought to “explain away” the resurrection of Jesus to
no avail. The tomb was empty; Jesus was raised from the dead and seen
by many credible witness (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).
What does the
resurrection of Jesus mean to you and me?
It is the
key to experiencing new life now.
The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the basis of the Good
News, the Gospel. The Apostle Paul wrote: “For I delivered to you first
of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose
again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians
15:3-4). Because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave, He
paid the price for our redemption from sin (Ephesians 1:7). When we
accept His offer of salvation from sin by placing our
faith and
trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), dying to the practice of sin in
repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Jesus before others (Romans 10:9-10), and are
baptized
into Christ
(Acts 2:38), we are raised from the watery grave of baptism to a new
life (Romans 6:3-4). Our sins are washed away by His blood, His Spirit
is given to us, and we are added to His family, the church (Acts 2:38,
41). We are made new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The
resurrection of Jesus is also the key to eternal life.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Because of His own resurrection
and the promises that Jesus made, when Jesus comes again the dead in
Christ will rise to meet the Lord “and thus we shall always be with the
Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
The empty
tomb of Jesus is the ultimate “grave buster.” Won’t YOU accept
His offer of new and eternal life through your trusting obedience?
-- David A.
Sargent
*
Information gleaned from “Open Grave, Hanover” in Wikipedia.com.
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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